DMS Commercial Powder Printer - STATUS: Cancelled. After several informal discussions, it was determined that a commercial powder printer would not be the best option for us at this time (due to the price of purchasing a unit, cost of maintenance, and cost of materials for the prints. We may revisit this at a later time; but, at this time, it's not an active project.

holding until DMS FDM printer is completed. Right now having one donated has
not be going very well, and the price of these printer is in the 50k+ mark.

Space Claim Software (Andrew Falgout) - STATUS: Inactive (No new updates from previous Chair. Current Chair has not looked into it further).

* 2014-08-01: 10 license
* 2014-08-15: The educational pricing only applied if a full license is purchased as well since we are not a .edu

3D Safety Reference - WIP

What is a 3D printer?

A 3D printer is a machine that, using various media and techniques, creates a three-dimensional object through an additive process. This could be FDM with a filament, SL with a laser, or Powder using a binder.

Why is there a safety class for a 3D printer?

This class is for both you, but more importantly, for the printer. The printer can hurt you, but improper operation will hurt the printer and cause downtime. How can the printer hurt you? The hot end reaches temperatures of 180-260 °C. This is enough to create a creative scar instantly on the skin or worse. The printer's axis can move VERY fast on the XY, and strongly on the Z axis. If you put your hands inside the printers, they will get hurt or broken.

Preparing for the print.

Can your model be printed? (coming from thingiverse doesn't mean it will print)

STL files are meshes, and the faces of these meshes must be facing outward

Prepare the model for printing

Load the model in sketchup or blender to repair the model

Run your model through the online netfab to give your stl file a sanity check.

Slicing your model - All printers operate on gcode (instructions on where the printer needs to move the head, and how much filament to extrude) which must be created through a process called slicing. This takes the 3d model, and breaks it down layer by layer (according to the lay height setting) telling the printer where to move the head, and how much medium to deposit/bind.

Does your model require support? If there are overhangs in your print, then you might require support

What to expect during a print.

The printer will bring the hot end up to temp, then the bed, then home all axis.

The printer will start to render your 3d object using the medium of choice, layer by layer to create the entire object.

When completed, the printer will park the head, and everything should start to cool off.

What can go wrong during the print?

The extruder could strip (dig a hole) the filament. This will cause the printer to move normally, but no filament is pushed out of the hot end. Your print has failed, and must be restarted. This results in Damage Type 1.

Spool tension causes the filament switch to be tripped, causing the print to pause. (PolyPrinter Only) Damages this can cause:

What is a successful or failed print? In the end, this is an opinion but I will try to put some guidelines. In the end, if you are happy with it, and it does what it was designed for the print is a success.

Excessive curling at the edges (bad)

gaps in the side walls of the print (bad)

What to do after the print?

Let the bed cool down until it reaches 50-70C. Not doing so can and will result in difficulty removing the object from the bed. This will lead to tape damage, damaged bed frame, or worse. Patience is not a virtue here, it is a requirement.

Damage Types:

Stagnent plastic: This results from the plastic not moving through the hot end. This causes the plastic to be cooked and will result in charring. This could easily result in a clogged nozzle which requires a consumable replacement. (ie money from the funds)

Head Crashing: This happens when the nozzle is forced into the bed by the Z axis. This can result in structural damage, as well as nozzle failure. When a crash ocurs, the bed could be bent or scarred both render the printer useless, the nozzle could be bent rendering it unusable, or the frame could be bent rendering the printer useless. This type of damage can be very expensive and should be avoided at all costs. How does this happen? Only a trained individual should ever attempt to calibrate the printers.

Nozzle "Clogging": There are a large number of variables that can cause this, but here are a few of them. Debris in the filament, dust collection in the nozzle due to dirty filament, filament left in the nozzle at operating temperature for prolonged periods of time, and excessive temperature used on filament which it is not rated for. This will all result in a nozzle replacement at best, or a hotend rebuild to remedy the situation.

Question: What can I do if my print takes longer to print than I can stay? Answer: You must coordinate with another member to have them watch it. If a print goes bad, damage can be done to the printer, which costs money and downtime to the membership as a whole. This is not fair to everyone else, and will be avoided.

3d Printing Information

There are many types of 3d printers, but they are all an additive process. By this, I mean, the printer adds material to create an object instead of taking away material such as with a mill or router. ([read here])

At this time, we have only FDM printers. We are working to get others, but the other technologies are not cheap.